Some Northern Nigerian Muslim politicians with membership in the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) and close to former vice president Atiku Abubakar are suing to require ‘zoning,’ the ruling People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) power sharing arrangement by which its presidential candidates alternate between the predominately Muslim North and the predominately Christian South. Up to now, the general understanding had been that ‘zoning’ was an internal PDP arrangement that was not mandated by law. The suit is scheduled for a January 4 hearing. Read more »

Cindy Shiner from allafrica.com interviewed me about my book and the current political situation in Nigeria.

Here’s an excerpt:

What you’ve got right now is a convergence of stresses. You’ve got the Delta, you’ve got Boko Haram and similar groups in the north, and you have an apparent division amongst the elites along north-south lines. Read more »

CFR Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies John Campbell discusses the relations between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Campbell emphasizes that where religious divisions correspond to ethnic and economic differences, conflict often acquire a religious coloration. Read more »

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has gone public with his intention to prosecute five senior Kenyan political figures for crimes against humanity associated with the 2007 elections. While this is a highly positive step with respect to breaking down a culture of impunity among senior African political figures, many African politicians across the continent will not welcome this. Sub-Saharan African opinion in general puts a premium on “African solidarity,” and African media and political figures have already accused the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer, of an undue focus on their continent. Many Africans have objected to his efforts to prosecute Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan for genocide. Read more »